Everyone has seen the Rocky movie, we assume, right? If not, then what kind of a childhood did you have?

Rocky, the underdog fighting the incumbent and winning in the end. It’s a great story.

Well, looks like we have a Rocky story in ETFs and it’s called Betashares. Set up in 2009 by Alex Vynokur, an Ukrainian national who emigrated to Australia.

Today, Betashares and iShares are slugging it out virtually neck and neck in terms of Australian ETF assets and are vying to catch market leader Vanguard.

Can you imagine that? Some dude who starts his own ETF firm and now finds himself trading punches with the likes of iShares and Vanguard. Amazing.

We know Sylvester Stallone reads this newsletter, so maybe he will produce a movie about that someday.

Fund Launches and Updates

 

EMEA

 

German asset manager Deka has introduced the Deka Nasdaq-100 UCITS ETF (D6RH) on Deutsche Boerse and the Stuttgart Stock Exchange.

This new offering aims to replicate the Nasdaq 100 index. The ETF carries a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.25%, lower than two of the largest funds in its category: the $8.1 billion iShares Nasdaq 100 UCITS ETF (CNDX) and the £4.1 billion Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq-100 UCITS ETF (EQQQ). investing.com

 

JP Morgan Asset Management has expanded its fixed income range with the launch of an active global aggregate bond ETF.

The JPMorgan Active Global Aggregate Bond UCITS ETF (JAGG) is listed on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Boerse, Six Swiss Exchange and Euronext Milan with a total expense ratio of 0.30%. etfexpress

 

21Shares has received the approval of its 21Shares Bitcoin ETP (ABTC) and 21Shares BOLD ETP (BOLD) from Saudi scholars as it attempts to increase it is presence in the Saudi market .globalnewswire

 

Roundhill Investments is set to exit the European ETF market after announcing the closure of its metaverse exchange-traded fund just 18 months after launching.

The Round Ball Metaverse UCITS ETF (METV) will delist from the Deutsche Boerse on Nov. 30 after gathering just $1.8 million in assets under management since its inception. yahoo

 

BlackRock has launched an ETF capturing companies focused on mining and manufacturing the metals facilitating the transition to renewable energy.  The iShares Essential Metals UCITS ETF (METL) is listed on Deutsche Boerse and Euronext Amsterdam with a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.55%. citywire

 

Franklin Templeton is terminating its European equity ETF due to low assets under management (AUM).

The Franklin European Equity UCITS ETF (FREQ) will cease trading on 15 November before closing the following day. FREQ currently houses €3.4m assets under management (AUM) and is no longer considered “economically viable”, according to the firm. etfstream

 

State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) is set to offer the cheapest ETF in Europe after slashing the fees on its S&P 500 product by two-thirds.

Effective 1 November, the $5.5bn SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF (SPY5) will see its total expense ratio (TER) cut from 0.09% to 0.03%, the cheapest S&P 500 ETF on the European market, undercutting the Invesco S&P 500 UCITS ETF (SPXS) and its 0.05% TER. etfstream

 

Fidelity expands sustainable active ETF suite with double fixed income launch. The Fidelity Sustainable EUR Corporate Bond Paris Aligned Multifactor UCITS ETF (FUIG) and the Fidelity Sustainable USD Corporate Bond Paris Aligned Multifactor UCITS ETF (FEIG) are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Deutsche Boerse total expense ratio (TER) of 0.20%. investmentweek

 

AMERICAS

 

JP Morgan Asset Management has launched  its latest active bond ETF, adopting a similar strategy and the same team from its more than 30-year-old Core Bond mutual fund. The JPMorgan Active Bond ETF (JBND) has strong connections to the $40 billion JPMorgan Core Bond (WOBDX) mutual fund, which launched in 1991. JBND carries an expense ratio of 0.30%.  etf.com

 

Morgan Stanley Investment Management has listed five new active ETFs on NYSE Arca.

The five ETFs are:

Parametric Equity Premium Income ETF (NYSE Arca: PAPI)
Parametric Hedged Equity ETF (NYSE Arca: PHEQ)
Eaton Vance High Yield ETF (NYSE Arca: EVHY)
Eaton Vance Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (NYSE Arca: EVIM)
Eaton Vance Ultra-Short Income ETF (NYSE Arca: EVSB). etftrends

 

Core Values Alpha (CVA), an offshoot of investment advisor MSA PowerFunds, has made its ETF debut with the launch of an actively managed Chinese equities fund. The Core Values Alpha Greater China Growth ETF (CGRO US) targets China-domiciled companies from high-growth sectors.

The fund may invest in Chinese A-shares, Hong Kong-listed securities, and American Depository Receipts (ADRs). The actively managed fund approaches China investing through an “America-first” lens. etfstrategy

Neuberger Berman has converted two actively managed mutual funds to ETFs. The Neuberger Berman China Equity ETF (NYSE Arca: NBCE) targets high-quality companies tied economically to China.

The Neuberger Berman Global Real Estate ETF (NYSE Arca: NBGR), meanwhile, invests in the global real estate sector. The ETFs are supported by a research-based approach to active management. etftrends

 

ASIA-PACIFIC

Australian ETF ‘underdog’ is taking on Vanguard and BlackRock.

Three fund firms have emerged as leaders in Australia’s exchange traded fund industry, which has become one of the fastest growing in the world. Battling alongside two global ETF giants is a local “underdog” Betashares.

Australia’s ETF assets have doubled in size over the past three years, surpassing A$150bn ($95.69bn) by the end of July. The three largest ETF providers now own a 66.7% market share and have collectively garnered for more than 90% of ETF flows so far this year. ft

Flows

 

The global ETFs industry gathered US$67.70 Bn in net inflows in September, bringing year to date net inflows to US$596.75 Bn.

Assets invested in the global ETFs industry have increased 11.3% year-to-date in 2023, going from US$9.26 trillion at end of 2022 to $10.31 trillion, according to ETFGI’s September 2023 global ETFs and ETPs industry landscape insights report. etfgi

• YTD net inflows of $ 596.75 Bn are the second highest on record, after YTD net inflows of $923.16 Bn in 2021.
• 52nd month of consecutive net inflows.
• Assets of $10.31 Tn invested in the global ETFs industry at the end of September.
• Assets have increased 11.3% YTD in 2023, going from $9.26 Tn at end of 2022 to $10.31 Tn.

 

 

Exchange Traded People, a podcast series focused on exploring the career journey of industry leaders within the ETF and Digital Assets space.

Click here to get to hear their personal story and be inspired.

 

Noteworthy

 

Bitcoin fever gathers pace. JP Morgan analysts said that Wall Street may get a long-awaited Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) within months.

In a report, the top investment bank said it was “most likely” that a spot Bitcoin ETF could get approved before January 10. Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence added said that there is a 90% chance a Bitcoin ETF will get approved in January. decrypto

The number of ETF savings plans across Europe is set to quadruple over the next five years, according to research conducted by BlackRock and extraETF.

The research forecasted there will be 32 million ETF savings plans executed on a monthly basis across Europe by 2028, up from 7.6 million in September. Total annual investments in ETF savings plans will increase to €64.3bn, up from current levels of €15bn, as retail ETF adoption continues to grow across the continent. extraetf

Exchange-traded fund investors in China hold on to their fund shares for less than a month on average as nearly 70% of them are under the age of 40, according to a new survey conducted by Tianhong Asset Management and Hithink Flush Information Network.

As of end-June, ETF traders who were between the ages of 30 and 40 made up 38.6% of around four million such investors analysed by the Alibaba-backed fund house and the digital fund investment platform, according to their ETF Investor Behaviour Insight Report released last week.

Investors who were younger than 30 accounted for 29.7% of the total, while 31.7% of ETF investors were older than 40.

ETFs in the US, already thrashing mutual funds in the battle for new investor dollars, are beginning to challenge another bastion of the asset management industry, a survey of US asset managers suggests.

For the first time ETFs have edged out separately managed accounts for institutional clients as representing the largest opportunity among investment vehicles in the monthly survey of product trends by specialist consultancy Cerulli Associates.

The research revealed that 74 per cent of US asset managers viewed ETFs as a large opportunity compared with 70 per cent for institutional SMAs used by entities such as foundations, endowments and insurance general accounts. ft

 

From behind the Desk

 

Blackwater’s founder Michael O’Riordan participated i a webinar with US bank to talk about how best to enter the European ETF marketplace.

Link of the recording HERE.

Remember Blackwater is 100% INDEPENDENT so best placed to offer advise to anyone considering entering the European ETF market. The more information you have the better positioned you are to make an informed decision.